


The Cat’s Cottage

by devastating



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Bit cheesy not gonna lie, Fairy Tale Curses, Felix is a cat monster that’s all you need to know, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Mutual Pining, Rating because swearing and Sylvain’s general self, Sylvain Jose Gautier Being An Idiot, Witch Sylvain Jose Gautier, brief mention of fire related injury, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:40:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26942287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/devastating/pseuds/devastating
Summary: After running away from danger, Sylvain end’s up inside a seemingly abandoned cottage only to find that not only is it not as abandoned as he thought, but that the man living there has a curse. He’s not sure if he can manage it, but he thinks maybe it’s time someone breaks it and that that someone should be him.Alternate title: ‘Dear Sothis, Why Am I Attracted To A Monster?’
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius & Sylvain Jose Gautier, Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Comments: 10
Kudos: 82





	The Cat’s Cottage

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me in a fever dream and has not stopped haunting me since then. You can say that this is highly influenced by fairy tales like beauty and the beast where there’s one normal and one monster that fall in love but honestly it started out as me wanting to make Felix into a monster and then realizing that that would not stop Sylvain from wanting to ‘tap that’
> 
> **Now with amazing fan art!!!** [Here](https://twitter.com/nyanenciel/status/1318592485728215040)

_Solitude is a wonderful thing to create for oneself, to be able to hone it and master it is something that can be so precious and healing. Solitude that is given however, is nothing more than a curse bestowed upon by the most damned. One must be wary of the kind of solitude that you acquire for solitude that is unwanted can create monsters out of nothing._

* * *

The noises that had been so loud throughout his time in the woods had faded around an hour ago or maybe it had even been longer than that, Sylvain was unsure at this point. His body ached and his brain was clouded with both exhaustion and frustration. Exhaustion for he had been running and walking for three days now. Frustration because he had been forced to run in the first place. It was common, of course, for someone like him to be on the run and fearing for their life. 

The life of a witch was not an easy one. 

He blamed the new ruler of the land for that one. She had brain washed all of the people of Fodland into believing that witches and spell casters were evil, malicious, and bringers of disease. Or so he has heard at least, he’s not sure if those exact words had left her lips but those were at least the words that were thrown his way. What was once a profession that many had depended and praised was now shunned and hated. ‘Bad omens’ they called him, ‘ the devil's servant’ he’s been titled. He’s neither of course but it’s been a long time since he’s tried to fight against the stigma. 

Now, all he can do is run. From one town to the next that’s all he can do. He stays long enough to get food and a roof over his head, long enough to maybe try and get some form of normalcy. He stays until he has to leave, until he knows that they will soon find him out. He’s only ever been caught once and it had been enough for him to never make the mistake of trusting others ever again. His body still holds the burn marks from the stake, he would have died that day had it not been for that specific village being foolish enough to use normal rope to tie him down. That day fire was both his tormentor and savior as it burned the ropes off his ankles and arms enough for him to escape. He was 17 at the time, in the 5 years since that day he’s come to hate fire as much as he’s in debt to it. 

He runs now because he had gotten sloppy, had gone and slept with the wrong woman. It had been a fling, nothing more than just another bed to warm but the next morning when he did not stay she went and told everyone that he had used magic to seduce her. It was a lie of course, magic didn’t work that way, but the village believed her because how could a vagabond like himself manage to bed so many people with just a pretty face and nothing more? They weren’t wrong, he was a witch and he was attractive, but he did not have to use magic to make others like him. Simple lies and empty words were enough to make anyone want a night with him. Of course, at the mention of witchcraft common sense cannot be used, he’s learned this too. 

So now he runs, accused for a crime he did not commit but still guilty of the title. He’s been running for three days now and he knows he’s far enough from them but anxiety and fear keep him going forward. He has yet to run into any town though he’s sure that even then he wouldn’t stop just as a precaution. Still, it unsettles him how long he has been in the abandoned forest. 

That is why it surprises him when he comes across the torn down cottage. The pathetic thing nothing more than a hollow husk of what it once must have been. The wood of the walls rotted and broken, the shingles of the roof with crater sized holes. Nature has taken the cottage apart with its great vines and thick weeds. Even the trees that surround the building have ripped into the cobblestone with its roots. It’s abandoned and on its last breaths, even still, it's enough for him to call it a home for tonight. It’ll rain, it has every night, and a hole filled roof is better than no roof at all. 

Leaves and debri crunch under his boots as he carefully pushes the door open, the hinges creak and cry as it swings to reveal the inside. Broken glass covers the dusty floors and there is not a single piece of furniture in sight. Whoever called this place their home once must have left with all their things in tow. There is no sign of anyone living there, no sign of life apart from some mushrooms in the damp decrepit corners of the room. 

The cottage is nothing more than bones. 

Bones will have to do for tonight, he tells himself as he drops his bag on the floor and sits with his back to the wall. Bones will have to do.

* * *

He wakes up to the smell of maple, soft clanging of pots and chopping thuds. Consciousness comes slowly to him but once it does he’s scrambling to sit up and look around him. He is in a room, in a bed, and in a home. Those three things are what first comes to his mind before the smaller details follow in. The room is small and crowded, filled with bookshelves and knickknacks. There are swords hanging on the walls but there are also other scrolls and paintings on the walls too. It’s crowded, everything is crowded in the room as if whoever calls this their room is running out of space to place things. Even the bed has too many pillows and too many blankets. Furs stacked on top of patched up quilts. There are rugs too, so many that Sylvain can’t see what lies underneath. Still, he can't help but see the organization in the chaos of the room. 

There is a reason why everything is the way that it is, although still crowded, it is not to the point that he would say it is messy. It is simply stuffed, overflowing with abundant things but never a mess. He can appreciate that, though it does not hide the weirdness of being in a place he had not been the night before. 

Hesitantly he lets his feet hit the floor and get out of bed. He’s wearing his clothes still, at least, though his coat, boots, and bag are nowhere to be found. He can see that his skin has been cleaned too, there is no dirt or grime and one careful scratch to his head also proves that his hair has been washed too. His oily hair from before was now soft and curled, though whoever had cleaned his hair hadn’t had the experience to know that curly hair you usually do not brush with tight combs because now his hair is nothing but friz and puff. He doesn’t have to look in the mirror to know that his hair probably resembles brushed out wool instead of his usual styled curls. That’s fine he thinks, better than oily matted hair. 

Slowly and as quietly as he can, he gathers up the nerve to open the door, with careful thought out steps he manages to pop his head out of the door to look to the outside. He doesn’t know what to make of what he’s seeing. He can now recognize that the cottage he had slept in last night was the same one he was in now. He doesn’t know how it happened, but where it had been abandoned last night it was now lived in, it was now a _home_. The rest of the cottage is not as packed as the bedroom but it is still stuffed with life. There is an over abundance of furs, he notes, as well as swords though that one is more concerning. 

He hears the chopping stop abruptly causing him to hold his breath before he hears shuffling and then the chopping commences once more. He has no idea what is going on, nor does he know what he’s supposed to do in this kind of situation. He feels as if he’s either dreaming or living out a fairytale fantasy, he hopes it’s at least one where there’s a happy ending. He desperately hopes it’s not a tale where he’s about to be killed and eaten. The chopping is a steady sound and he can now hear water boiling, whoever is cooking is doing it in complete silence making it hard for him to try and get a scope on what’s going on. 

Curiosity in the end, is what leads him to take more steps away from his room and towards the noise. There is no shift in the air and the chopping continues and so does he. He keeps walking until he can now see into the kitchen and suddenly his heart stops beating. He had joked, of course, when he said that he had hoped he wasn’t in a tale where he was about to be cooked and eaten, but now he finds himself almost in tears at the fact that that possibility has now grown tenfold. 

Before him stands what he has never in his wildest dreams ever imagine. It is a man, lean and built, with toned legs and arms that indicate a skilled hunter. That is all that is normal of them though. Where hands are meant to be instead are long blacked fingers with sharp pointed claws, a black tail twitches in the air and long pointed black ears stand on the man's head. It is the face, however, that causes his heart to stop. Where a man's face is supposed to be is instead a skull, it’s feline maybe a cat or a leopard but a skull nonetheless. The skull seems almost like a mask with the way that the man still has long raven hair but something tells him that that isn’t the case. 

“It is rude to stare.” 

He jumps at the sound of the deep velvet like voice, cursing under his breath as he palms at his chest. He doesn't know how long he had been staring, he’s not even sure how the man could see that he was there, but either way, he’s been caught and now he can only pray that he doesn’t do or say something to get himself killed. 

“Uh y-yeah sorry” he chuckles nervously, raking a hand through his hair before flicking his eyes to look up only to see that the man is now staring directly at him. Any and all thought of the skull being a mask are out the window now that all he can see is black in the hollow eye sockets. 

“You are still staring” the man speaks again, this time Sylvain see’s the jaw move and that only proves the inevitable. 

“Shit sorry sorry I really am” he takes a step back. “I just— I never— this is—” he takes a deep breath to stop himself from stammering before awkwardly smiling. “You have really pretty hair has anyone ever told you that?” He thinks that if the man had skin he would be frowning, still, even without the addition of eyebrows, he can feel that the man is glaring at him. 

He opens his mouth to maybe stammer out another form of an apology but before he can do that the other man is speaking, “You broke into my home.”

He blinks, taken back a little. “Uuh y-yea sorry about that I well. Crazy thing but I could have sworn that this place was abandoned like there were holes and dust _everywhere_.” He chuckles as he points at the room and walls. “If I had known that someone lived here I would have never just, you know, spent the night.” 

The man hummed quietly before turning around and going back to chopping meat, Sylvain seriously hoped it was lamb or pork. “It looks abandoned on the outside; I do that for a reason.” 

“Oh?” 

“I do not like guests.” Sylvain is now seriously considering the possibility of meeting his maker by the end of tonight. He chuckles nervously, his brain desperately trying to come up with something that he can say to excuse himself and leave but before he can so much as open his mouth, the man continues. “What’s your name?” 

“Sylvain” he answers immediately and a bit too quickly, his nerves showing in the way his tone hitched up slightly. He coughs to clear his throat, “uh Sylvain, my name is Sylvain” he repeats more steady than before. 

“Felix.” 

“What?” 

“My name. It’s Felix” the man chops down on bone with ease before grabbing more meat and cutting into it as if it was butter. He likes to think that it’s because the knife is sharpened and not because the man has unnatural strength. 

“Oh Felix? Like the fairytale cat?” The chopping stops and instantly he wishes that he knew how to stop himself from making jokes. This was neither the time or the place to be cracking jokes about people’s names and yet here he was, doing exactly that to a feline monster creature because his heart hasn’t stopped hammering at his chest for the past 10 minutes. 

“I..” Felix trails off slightly before mumbling. “I don’t know what fairy tale you’re talking about.” 

He blinks, his mouth falling open in awe at the fact that it strangely sounded like Felix was trying to keep a conversation with him. Like Felix hadn’t gotten offended by his shitty joke and was instead trying to understand it. He sees Felix shift in place before dumping out the meat into a pot and that snaps him out of his trance. 

“Oh! Well, it’s one that I read when I was younger. It wasn’t necessarily about the cat but more about the owner of said cat. You know one of those princess sidekick characters” he chuckled and earned himself a nod from the man. “Uh anyway I really am sorry about you know just, popping in without really—“ 

“Can you set the table? The plates are over there” Felix interrupts him, pointing at the cabinet on the other side of the room without turning to look at him. 

Sylvain might be many things, but he was not however the kind of man that turned down an order from a potentially dangerous creature and so he did just that. Felix’s plates were all different colors and sizes, none were from an exact set and some were clay while others were wood. There were three bowls and only two flat plates. An unnecessary amount of mugs that all were different shapes, sizes, and made of different kinds of materials. It was charming though, it suited the chaos that was Felix’s home. 

“Forks and knives?” He asked as he opened up drawers until he found the cutlery. 

“It’s just stew.” 

“Just spoons then” he hummed before digging in the drawer for spoons. There were a handful of forks, a shit ton of knives, but it felt like it took a milenia to find the second spoon. He managed though, with a lot of digging and quiet cursing, but eventually the table was completely set by the time Felix was turning to him with a hand stretched out. He blinked at it in confusion before shrugging and reaching over to shake the man's hand. It was cold, though not in the dead kind of cold but more as in Felix must be feeling cold kind of way. 

After a baited second of Sylvain holding Felix’s hand and the other man just looking at their hands, Felix spoke hesitantly. “I meant for you to pass me the bowls.” 

“Oh!” He could feel his cheeks heat up as he quickly let go of Felix’s hand and walked over to get the bowls and handed them to the other man. “Yeah that makes sense” he chuckled, scratching the back of his neck and praying to the goddess that his face didn’t match the red of his hair. 

Felix hummed at him before filling both bowls up, handing Sylvain his and then taking his own. He sat with his back to the kitchen though Sylvain could guess it was so that he could be facing the front door. Since Felix wasn’t one for guests he could guess he might also be the kind to be paranoid of getting attacked, he was speculating of course but it was just something that he could bet on. 

“Thanks for the food” he smiled at Felix before taking the other seat. He looked warily at the soup but it looked like any normal meat stew he’s had except maybe with less vegetables than usual. He was hungry though, and call him foolish but Felix had been nothing but hospitable so against better judgment he ate. Almost immediately he moaned at how delicious it was, the meat was cooked to perfection, the seasoning was just right, and yes the ratio of vegetable to meat was off but goddess he had never had something taste so good. 

“Fuck this is so good” he mumbled before eating with maybe a little too much enthusiasm. He figured that a monster creature wouldn’t necessarily care if he wasn’t showcasing the best table manners after all. 

“Do you want,” Felix croaked before clearing his throat. “Do you want tea?” 

“Hmm? Of yeah thank you” he smiled at the man before taking another bite, humming in delight. It had been a long time since he had a home cooked meal, it had been even longer that it had been a meal that was actually good. If he found out that Felix had drugged the food and he was a lamb being led to slaughter he wouldn’t mind it. He was content if this was his last meal. 

Felix quietly poured out some tea for him, he didn’t have eyes so Sylvain couldn’t be too sure, but he knew that he was being watched. Carefully looked over and analyzed but that was fine, he was okay with being the center of attention, in most cases he even preferred it. For this time though, now that he was past his initial shock, he was brimming with curiosity. 

He waited till he finished eating, letting silence fill the room as the two ate, his eyes too focused on his own meal to even look up and see how the other man ate. He figured though, that it would have been disrespectful to stare anyways so it was a good thing he had been too busy relishing in how tasty the food was. Eventually though, he finished his stew and so did Felix, the both sipped on their tea quietly and in a weird peace. 

“This tea would go great with lemon cookies” he broke the silence, vying for casual and not hasty despite his curiosity coming to a boil. 

“That sounds unnecessarily sweet.” 

“You don’t like sweets?” 

“No.” 

He hummed, taking another sip of his tea. “Well lemon cookies aren’t all that sweet. They’re a bit tangy, I mean yeah sweet because they’re cookies but nothing like a chocolate fudge cookie.” 

“I’ll trust you on that,” Felix mumbled as he placed his cup down. 

“So” he trailed off, looking around the home and trying to come up with a way to talk about the obvious elephant in the room. He figured though, that Felix was the type that you took things slow and methodically instead of just an outright approach. He had a feline resemblance, Sylvain made up his mind to approach him like he would a stray cat. 

“You said that you made it so that the cottage looked abandoned…. like with magic?” He asked with a tilt of his head. This question served as two things, one to breach the main subject at hand but two, depending on Felix’s reaction to the topic of magic, Sylvain may or may not be running out of this house. 

“A different type of magic that you use” Felix mumbled, leaving him to gawk at the man. Felix sighed, “I know you’re a witch. You smell like one.” 

He chuckled nervously, “I hope it’s not a bad smell.” 

“No. You smell of citrus” Felix mumbled quietly as he looked out to the window. 

“Oh? Like lemon or orange” he smiled, leaning on his elbows. 

Felix huffed, “both I guess?” This was another instance where Felix had no eyes but he could bet on his life that the man had just rolled his ‘eyes’ at him. 

“Huh well that’s cool I guess” he mused, leaning back on his chair. “So since you know what I am…” he trailed off, giving Felix a look before taking another sip of his tea. 

“I’m human.” 

“Uuuuuh.” 

Felix groaned, “look just. Don’t ask, shit happened and now this” he waved at a hand at his face. 

He hummed, squinting his eyes at the man and taking a closer look. Now that he knew Felix was human then there were even more questions he wanted to ask but knew better than to ask. However, at the end of the day unlike most humans, he had enough knowledge and experience to know about the ‘unnatural’. And he just so happened to have made a name for himself in a certain thing that he knew, that at least, he could ask the other man. 

“Is it a curse?” 

“You can say that” Felix mumbled, crossing his arms across his chest. 

“Well then you’re in luck!” He exclaimed, putting his cup to the side and leaning forward to the other man. “The names Sylvain Jose Gautier, curses are kind of my thing” he winked.

* * *

Felix, much to his surprise, did not even try to kick him out or get hostile about him trying to look into his curse. He couldn’t really see much, being that Felix had no facial expressions, but Sylvain could swear that the man looked almost happy at the idea of not being alone anymore. That was not to be confused however, with Felix wanting to be around him. The first day Felix humored him by staying in the same room and talking to him occasionally, by the second day Felix spent most of the afternoon in another room and the third day he was practically gone.However come the fourth day, Felix was right by his side again. 

It became a repeating pattern of Felix staying right by his side then drifting away slowly just to slingshot back and be by his side. It was weird, Sylvain will admit that much. Like a mental whiplash to see someone one day like you and the next not even say so much as a hello to you. But Felix, he learned, was just weird in general. The man’s personality was comparable to an angry tavern cat and the man's hobbies consisted of cooking and forging swords. That was it. That was literally all the man did. Occasionally Felix would make some tiny knick knacks out of clay he used to make plates and bowls but Sylvain guessed it was more so that the clay didn’t go to waste and not because of him liking art. 

The man was prickly and extremely awkward, but he wasn’t a bad guy. He was just….. an angry tavern cat. 

Much to his surprise, he settled pretty easily into living with the man. It took him almost no time at all to get used to his cat creature roommate and it took even less time for him to make himself at home. By the end of the week he knew where everything was and he knew what rooms he was allowed in and which ones he wasn’t. He knew when to talk to Felix and when to leave him alone. He had even begun making a dent into Felix’s books (which mainly consisted of a lot of weapon related topics…) all in all, he was actually pretty comfortable making a hole in the shape of him in Felix’s home. 

Which was why he was now standing in shock as Felix told him to get out. 

“What?” 

“I said get out” Felix repeated, bitter anger seeped into his words. 

He chuckled, still so wildly confused. “Get out? Like as in you want me to leave the room or in—“ 

“Just get the fuck out” Felix snapped, a low growl came from his throat. “Grab your shit and _leave_.” 

“Did I— Did I do something?” He asked, frowning at the man. “Did I make you mad or what the fuck Felix? Where is this coming from?” 

“Just fucken leave” Felix hissed. “I don’t want you in my house so just grab your shit and. Get. Out.” 

He laughed, because that’s all he could do. Looking at the man incredulously before slowly, anger started to latch onto him. “Are you fucken kidding me?” He eyed the man up and down before laughing again, raking his fingers through his hair. “You’re something else you know that?” 

“Get. Out.” 

“No.” He snapped back turning to look at Felix. “No. If you give me a real reason why then I will. I will grab all of my shit and walk out of that door and _never_ see you again since that’s clearly what you want” he scoffed. Felix didn’t say anything to that, suddenly unable to make words which only caused him to sigh, “I’ll be in my room waiting for you to come up with an excuse. Then and only then, will I leave” he spoke before pushing past the man and having to hold himself back from slamming the door. 

He was pissed, of course he was pissed. Not only had Felix’s anger come out of nowhere but it was unwarranted. He hadn’t done anything to piss the man off and if anything, he was staying here to _help_ Felix. Yes maybe the man didn’t think he was doing anything but that was because breaking a curse was both more simple and harder than many thought. It wasn’t him reading thousands of books or making all these different potions, no, breaking a curse was just watching the person that was cursed and getting familiar with the curse. It was a lot of watching, a lot of patience, and a lot of waiting until an opening showed itself that he would give him a view into what the curse is and why it was placed. Curses are broken by the cursed person doing something, they weren’t broken by a ritual, they weren’t broken by potions, or chanting, they were broken by the person ‘learning their lesson’. It was simple but still so incredibly hard. 

He had already made enough progress to know that whatever Felix did to earn the curse had something to do with his attitude. That he either snapped at the wrong person or his anger caused him to hurt someone, he sees now more than ever, that maybe he just got mad at someone that didn’t deserve it. The first step to helping Felix would be to help him with his sudden mood swing, but like hell he was going to help now. Yes it had only been about two weeks since he had started living here so he was still new and somewhat a guest but that by no means justified getting kicked out for no reason. 

So no. He wasn’t going to let himself get kicked out, yes it was petty, yes it was childish to just brood in his room, and no, he was not going to leave the room. He was dramatic enough to starve in order to prove a point, worst comes to worst he’ll eat whenever he knows Felix isn’t around. He’s made up his mind of not giving the man any kind of contact if he wants to be like this. He’s stubborn enough to follow through too. 

He was brewing in his anger when he heard small timid scratches at his door, tiny little things before there was a knock. He frowned at the door, forcing himself to stay quiet and not lash out at the obvious person that was knocking. 

“...Sylvain?” 

His anger wavered at the sound of Felix’s voice, it was quiet and lacked the usual confidence that the man always had. He sighed, still refusing to get off the bed and so instead he resolved himself to speaking loud enough that he could be heard. “What?” 

“I—Can I come in?” 

Felix was making it really hard for him to stay mad at him.

“Yes” he sighed before the door hesitantly opened and Felix walked in. He looked like a kicked animal, his ears pinned back and his tail basically dragging on the floor. He looked sad and defeated and that tugged at Sylvain’s heart for some reason. 

Felix shifted in his spot, refusing to sit down or look at him. Sylvain counted to 10 before Felix finally spoke up. “I didn’t want to yell at you.” 

He frowned, “that’s a uh— that’s a creative excuse?” 

Felix groaned, finally looking up at him. “No you don’t get it, I—“ the man groaned again this time his tail started flicking in frustration. “I didn’t have control of what I was saying! I didn’t— that wasn’t what I meant to say.” 

“What do you mean you didn’t have control?” Sylvain asked, now both confused and concerned. 

“I didn’t have control” Felix gritted out before looking to the side, his fingers curling into fists. “This happens every time…” the man whispered. 

“Every time?” 

Felix sighed before answering in a small voice, “every time someone stays long enough for me to like them…” 

He blinked. His brain slowly wrapping around the words that had come out of Felix’s mouth before slowly things started to click. “Every time you tell them to leave?” 

“Yes…” Felix whispered, his ears somehow managing to pin themselves back even more. 

He frowned, standing up from the bed and walking closer to the man, still and arm length away but close enough that he would be able to see Felix’s reaction to his next words clearly. “Felix, you know why you’re cursed…. don’t you?” 

The man's shoulders instantly tensed, a small tremor spread through Felix’s body before he answered, “yes.” 

“Can you tell me why?” Felix shook his head, though that didn’t come to a surprise to him, most curses prevented the cursed to speak anything about it past yes or no answers. “Does it have to do with the fact that in the past you kept telling people to leave?” 

“Yes....” 

He sighed, scratching the back of his neck, “I’m guessing that most people that did stay once you were cursed left when you lashed out at them?” 

“Yes.” 

“You have a— well can’t say your curse isn’t unique” he mumbled. 

“I didn’t mean those words” Felix spoke up, looking over to him. “I didn’t.” 

“Yeah, I can guess that now” he sighed before giving the man a small smile. “Good thing I’m stubbornly petty huh?” This was one of those moments where he thinks that Felix is either frowning or glaring at him. He sighed, taking another step forward and then opened his arms, casually waving his hands, “come on. I’ll only forgive you if you let me have this hug.” 

“I don’t hug.” 

“Then you’re not forgiven.” 

Felix’s tail flicked with annoyance but even still, the man stepped forward until his forehead was resting on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around the man then, loose and with enough space that if Felix truly wanted to leave he could just get out easily. But it was still a hug, and yes it felt weird to feel hard bone on his shoulder and yes, Felix’s ear kept tickling his jaw, but then Felix began to purr quietly and suddenly Sylvain cursed at himself for not hugging the other man before today.

* * *

Things got weird after that day. Felix lashed out at him more and more, each time saying that he wanted Sylvain to leave and get away from him, and each time when he didn’t Felix would say he had no control of the words that left his mouth. It was hard for both of them, at first it was easy not to take the things Felix yelled to heart and simple power through the yelling, but then Felix’s words got crueler and meaner and now he found himself having to hold back the urge to lash out in return. It was hard, especially since deep down Sylvain knew it was just magic that was at play but the words still hurt nonetheless. 

Of course Felix tried to make up for those times. More and more, Sylvain found the man doing things for him, going out of his way to make sure that he didn’t think that Felix didn’t like him. Those moments were enough for him to power through all the bad. 

It was a nasty curse, and a strong one at that since it had now been three months since he started living with Felix and the curse was still trying to push him away. At first he had thought that maybe breaking the curse would be as simple as him just not leaving, but now he was having second thoughts on that. It was obvious to him now that there were more puzzle pieces that were missing, that there was more that needed to be done. 

“Get out” Felix hissed the minute he walked into the room and Sylvain didn’t even peel his eyes from his book. 

“Yeah yeah, scary curse wants me to leave” Sylvain mumbled before closing the book and turning to Felix. “Anyways Felix, wanna go for a walk? Neither of us have left the cabin in like months and I think that some fresh air will do us some good don’t you think?” 

Felix’s ears twitched, a tic Sylvain had noted that meant the magic washed away and the other man had control of his words once again. “Outside?” 

“Yeah, like go out for a walk, maybe pick a few berries. Oh! Find some mushrooms, I know this mushroom sauce that goes great with chicken” he smiled at the man. 

“I don’t step outside the cottage,” Felix whispered. 

“You don’t? Then how the fuck have we been eating deer?” 

Felix sighed, “I can stay near the parameters of the cottage but if I get to far I— well I wake up back in my room.” 

“Ah.” Sylvain figured that there would be a barrier, it would explain why Felix hadn’t been able to just chase after all the people that he had managed to scare off or why he hadn’t gone to get help. He hummed, crossing his arms over his chest and tapping his fingers. He wasn’t bored, not necessarily, but he was starting to think that the routine they had going on was in need of some changes if they wanted to make any headway. 

Felix shifted in his spot before Sylvain had what he thought was a brilliant idea. “Oh! Idea!” He sat up and smiled at the man. “I’ll leave and get stuff then come back.” 

The minute those words left him he felt the air around them shifted, almost instantly he could hear a low growl coming from Felix as the other man turned to him. “No. You’re not leaving.” 

Sylvain chuckled nervously, taking note of how suddenly the air felt colder and that for the first time since knowing the man, Felix’s anger towards him was true. “Just to grab some stuff like mushrooms and maybe fish” he smiled awkwardly. 

“You’re not leaving.” 

Sylvain frowned, “I said I was coming back Felix, I’m not leaving permanently. It’ll literally be maybe 30 minutes.” 

Felix ears pinned themselves back to his head as his tail started to fluff up in anger, the low growl got louder. “You’re not leaving me.” 

He eyed the other man warily. It was weird to hear the man that always wanted him to leave now say that he didn’t want him to leave. It was weird but he also realized why Felix was reacting to the suggestion like this. Everyone left, Felix had told him that he was the first person he had interacted with for longer than a week in years. For years Felix has been alone with no one but himself, so obviously the idea of having the only person he has had leave would be terrifying. 

But part of Sylvain realized now that maybe, him leaving and coming back is something that has to be done, not just so that Felix didn’t suddenly become unhealthily attached to him but for the curse too. The change that he needs to do in order to make any progress. Of course this is just a gut feeling that he has, though he would argue that his gut has never been wrong. 

“Felix” Sylvain spoke calmly, standing up slowly. “I’m going to go get something for us to eat, but I _will_ come back. You have my word.” 

“No, you are not leaving” Felix hissed. 

“I promise that I will come back, Felix” Sylvain smiled at him. “It’ll be good for us to eat something different, for us to take a couple of minutes away from each other even if it’s just for a bit.” 

Felix only growled, the man's hands clenched and unclenched on the side. He could tell that the other man was distressed, it wasn’t so much anger but fear that once he walked out of the door, he wouldn’t come back. It was a warrant fear, for all Sylvain knew leaving the cottage would mean never being able to come back in but it was a risk he thought they should take. Even if the cottage disappeared after he left, he would come back. Even if it took years, he would come back; he knows that because somewhere along the way he started actually caring about the prickly man. 

He slowly walked over to Felix before wrapping his arms around the man and holding him. “I’ll come back I promise.” 

Felix clung to him, his claws dug past his shirt and into his skin. “Sylvain don’t leave.” 

“I’ll come back.” 

“Please” Felix whispered, a tiny plea that broke Sylvain’s heart. 

“I’ll come back” he repeated again before pulling away and smiling at the man. “It’s just because I think you will love this mushroom sauce that I was talking about” he talked casually, pulling away to put his boots on and coat, he had his back to the other man simply because he knew if he kept looking at him he would most likely chicken out from doing this. “You’ll see when you eat it for dinner that it’ll be so worth it. You’ll probably be begging me to make it for you again” he chuckled as he walked over to the front door, only then did he turn to look at Felix. 

He looked small. He was hugging himself and even though he was across the room Sylvain could see the other man shaking. He had no eyes so he had no tears but Sylvain wasn’t foolish enough to think that the other man wouldn’t be crying right now if he had the chance to. He smiled at him, “I’ll be back Felix, I promise.” 

He didn’t wait for a reply before opening the door and stepping outside, he closed his eyes as he closed the door. Kept them shut as he took two steps forward, the leaves crunched under his feet and he could hear the wind howl around him but he kept his eyes closed until he counted 12 steps. Only then did he open them and hesitantly looked behind him. He nearly cried from joy at the sight of a lived in cottage, there were no holes, there were no overgrown weeds. It was a cottage, the one he had been living in for the past few months. He sighed in relief, smiling at the fact that the worst hadn’t happened.

He rushes through his time out in the forest, practically running around woods looking for mushrooms and then harvesting enough for the two of them. Taking some time to collect a couple of berries and other things that they could eat. He thinks about fishing, about bringing Felix something, but he settles on just these small amounts of things for today. He ties all the things up in a fabric piece he brought and then runs back to the cottage. His heart is beating out his chest the entire time and anxiety once again fills his veins. Maybe now that he left for a while the cottage will be gone, maybe he had fucked things up. 

But he hadn’t, the cottage was there still and he had to give himself a couple of seconds to calm his heart down. There was no use in running into the house and showing Felix that he also had been scared. Instead he waits until his breathing evens and with a smile he opens the door and steps inside. Almost immediately his eyes land on the small bundle of blankets on the side of the room, two black ears peeking through the layers. 

He puts his things to the side before closing the door and watches them twitch before Felix’s head pops out. The man looks at him for a few seconds before his ears pin back, “Sylvain” Felix whispered with a quivering voice. 

“I told you I would come back” he whispers back as he walks toward the man. He’s kneeling down before the man pounces on him, arms clinging to him and holding onto him for dear life. He chuckles, “I’m here Felix.” 

“You fucken asshole” Felix whispered, his claws digging into him as the man desperately tries to climb into his lap. Sylvain does them both a favor and sits down in the pile of furs where it’s easier for the man to cling to his side. “You’re such a fucken asshole.” 

“Yeah yeah” he chuckles, bringing his hand up to scratch behind Felix’s ear, the effect was instantaneous as the other man quickly melted in his arms. “I’m so mean.” 

“I’ll rip your head off if you ever do that shit again.” 

“Yes big scary cat will chew me up.” He gets a growl for that comment. 

He let’s Felix cling to him like that for a while, petting him and trying to sooth the man’s worries. He came back, he left and came back and somehow that felt like a big win for them. Felt like he had managed to do something big by doing that. Yes, there was nothing that had changed that he could see right now, but something had, his gut told him as such. 

“You know I still have to make you that mushroom sauce” he mumbled, somehow the two were now laying down. Felix was practically curled up on his chest and the steady rumble of purrs was enough for Sylvain to be fine about being smothered. 

“Tomorrow” Felix mumbled, his hands grabbing at Sylvains stomach and then letting go before repeating the motion, it took a while before Sylvain realized that Felix was kneading him and once he did he resolved himself to never move from his spot ever again.

* * *

After that day Felix didn’t have any more moments where he lashed out at him, that was enough for Sylvain to queue in on the fact that he had done the right thing. He made it a habit to leave at least once a week from then on, it was never more than 30 minutes and it always resulted in a clingy Felix. The man never initiated any kind of touches, if they hugged it was usually because he hugged the man. The exception was for the days that he would leave and come back. Those days, Felix was practically glued to his side and would even go as far as to sleep in the same bed as him for that night. It was cute, Sylvain would admit, it was actually adorable. 

Which was why Sylvain now realized that he had a terrible problem on his hands. 

Sylvain was someone that many might say was overly flirty and maybe even over affectionate. He once used to claim to fall in love with someone at least once a week, that was just what he was like. However most of the time his attraction or admiration, came in the shape of someone he thought was beautiful or handsome, someone that was attractive basically. It wasn’t that he was shallow, it was just that he never made it a point to spend time with anyone long enough to like them for their personality. 

So it figures that he would end up falling for the half monster feline man. 

Oh sweet irony, for him to go from only liking only attractive people to suddenly having daydreams of what it would be like to have Felix’s hands (claws?) on him. It wasn’t his first time having those kinds of thoughts about someone, it was however the first that featured a cat monster so he figures he can check that off his list now. An old friend of his had made a joke that he would fuck anything with a heart beat, he’s starting to realize that maybe just maybe, she was right. But it wasn’t just lust though, which was why it was a problem. Lust he could deal with, infatuation he could not. He doesn’t know when it happened, has no idea if there was a momentous event that caused it, all he knows is that he likes Felix. 

Scratch that he’s in love with the man but he’ll light himself on fire before he ever admits that shit. 

He tried to push it down, truly, he tried to just be normal (or as normal as a witch living with a feline monster could be) but then Felix would get _clingy_ and Sylvain had to do everything in his power not to pepper him with kisses. It was agony, divine retribution for all the times he fooled around. He was miserably in love and happy and he wanted to bash his head in. 

“What do you want to eat tonight” Felix asked as the man wiped his hands (paws?) on a towel to rid him of the soot and ash from welding. 

“Whatever you want Fe” he shrugged. 

“....Fe?” The man cocked his head to the side and Sylvain’s brain screamed at how weirdly cute that was. 

“Uh yeah” he chuckled nervously. “It’s a cute nickname don’t you think?” He doesn’t add the ‘cute like you’ but it’s there at the tip of his tongue. 

“Really? My name is two syllables. I hardly think it needs to be shortened” Felix mumbled but Sylvain had spent long enough to know that if the man had skin, he would be blushing which only made things worse for him because Felix blushing? Good god that’s probably adorable. 

“I like it” he shrugged with ease turning back to his book and letting the silence settle between them. 

“Well” Felix spoke up hesitantly. “Then I’ll call you Syl” the other man mumbled and instantly Sylvain felt Cupid’s arrow shoot him straight through his heart. 

“Y-Yeah you can call me that” he stammered out, feeling his face get hotter with each passing second before taking the coward route and trying to bury himself deep into the couch and using his book to hide his face as best as he could. 

“You never answered what you wanted to eat.” 

“Anything” he replied though his voice came out way too high pitched and cracked in the last letter. He coughed and cleared his throat, he knew that his face must be a deeper shade of red than his hair and that was truly a horrible thing for him. “I’m fine with anything” he tried again. 

Felix hummed before walking away, mercifully giving Sylvain some space to recuperate from the whiplash that was Felix giving him a nickname. It was such a small thing but his stupid lovesick heart basically claimed that to be as romantic as Felix proposing to him. Unluckily for Sylvain, the goddess seemed to like testing him and so for the next few days he found himself getting flustered by Felix’s actions more and more. 

It started off simple like Felix fixing his hair for him because it was ‘bugging him’ but soon Sylvain found himself in their couch with one hand holding his book and his other arm wrapped around Felix as the other man decided, for some reason, that his chest was the best spot for him to sleep on. He hadn’t even left that day, Felix had just come out of his room and plopped himself there claiming he had a headache and that was it. That had been five hours ago, and now Sylvain’s arm had lost all sensation and his heart hadn’t stopped panicking. He was going to die of a heart attack because of this man, he just knew it. 

He sighed, his fingers carefully untangling the man's hair as he looked down at him, “you’re the worst Fe. I can’t feel my fucken arm because of you,” he mumbled quietly. “You’re lucky that I love you.” 

And then Sylvain is blinded by a flash of light, he tears up and the string of curses that leave his lips would make Felix proud. He feels Felix push himself off of him but quite frankly Sylvain is way too busy rubbing at his eyes and trying to ease the pain to really care about him at the moment. 

“Seiros tit what the actual fuck” he grits out, pulling his hands away and blinking wildly. He can’t really see, everything is blurry and all that his eyes manage to make out are shapes and colors and nothing more. That causes him to groan before he rubs at his eyes again. 

“Holy shit” he can hear Felix whisper, the other man almost out of breath. 

“I know that fucken light probably made me blind for the rest of my life” he groans, blinking again and squinting at the room, still not really able to see properly just yet. 

“Holy shit. Holy fucken shit” Felix breathes out before laughing, it’s then that Sylvain’s eyes finally start working and he learns four things. 

_One: The goddess truly hates him and is a cruel cruel woman_

_Two: The goddess REALLY hates him and is a horrible wicked little bitch_

_Three: Felix’s curse has been broken and he knows damn well why because curses are cruel little shits that always manage to stick to stereotypes that somehow, always manage to catch Sylvain off guard_

_Four: The goddess just fucken despises him because Felix is the most beautiful man he’s ever seen and he doesn’t know what to do about that_

“Holy shit” he breathed out in awe as Felix touched all over his face with his now human hands, laughing hysterically. 

“It’s broken, holy shit it’s broken” Felix laughed out before standing up and running over to the restroom, the door remained opened so Sylvain could see how the man just took several seconds to look at his reflection. The smile on the man's face was the most gorgeous thing Sylvain had ever seen, his heart suddenly beating wildly at what he was seeing. 

Felix turned to him then, killing him with the smile that was now directed at him, “what did you do to break it?” 

Scratch that, there are 5 things that Sylvain learned that day. 

_Five: he’s going to personally fist fight the Goddess after he jumps off a cliff_

Now he was left with two options. He could either fess up and admit the ridiculous truth which was that he said that he loved him and somehow the curse was like ‘alright that’s good enough’ and that it broke the curse. Maybe explain to Felix the sheer ridiculousness that curses are with how romantic they always end up being and pray that Felix doesn’t make fun of him or maim him. Or he could just say that he was asleep so he wasn’t sure what he did but that it could have probably been just that he hadn’t left and eventually beat out the curse by sticking around like a parasite. 

Yeah, he’ll go with the second option. 

“Ah well you know,” he shrugged before the feeling of magic suddenly seeped into him and he knew where this was going. He knew damn well where this was going because he was a witch, a witch that knew just how shitty curse magic was. He can feel his mouth open without his control so to save face he slaps his hands over his mouth to muffle the words that want to come out. 

Felix’s eyes immediately widen at his actions but before he can say anything else, Sylvain is grabbing a pillow and slamming his face into it. His mouth still speaks the words but thankfully, it comes out instead as ‘cuh I ro u’ which he’ll take it. He will take that outcome over just blatantly saying the truth. His entire face is smashed into the cushion so he’s blissfully unaware of the fact that not only had Felix always known what was required to break his curse (just couldn’t say it), but that the younger man was now grinning at him. 

“What was that” Felix asked, taking careful steps towards the redhead who was still desperately trying to get control over his mouth again. 

He wants to scream, he thinks he might even cry. He’s already making a mental checklist of all the things he needs to pack for when Felix kicks him out of the cottage. It’s then that he feels a hand grab the pillow and yank it out much to his horror between hands cup the side of his face. Felix is smiling at him, it’s different than the other smile that he had had, prettier, softer, it leaves him feeling gutted. 

“What was that?” 

He doesn’t know if it's the magic that makes him admit the truth or not, all he knows is that he finds himself whispering, “because I love you.” 

Felix breathes out a laugh before pulling him forward and suddenly Felix’s lips are on his. It catches him off guard, he gasps at the sudden contact before his brain realizes what is going on. His hands immediately reach out to the younger man, pulling him closer as he returns the kiss. It’s far from perfect, Felix is a bit too excited and uses a lot more teeth than he should but at the same time it’s the best kiss Sylvain has ever had. 

“You’re such an idiot” Felix smiles at him as he pulls away from him. Sylvains hand now tracing over his cheek and jawline, “I can’t believe you confessed to me while I was asleep.” 

“Not my fault your curse has a generic way to break it!” he chuckled, leaning forward to pepper the man's face with kisses. “I hope you’re aware that now I’m going to be absolutely insufferable about complimenting you because you’re the most beautiful person that I’ve ever seen.” 

“You’re so fucken stupid” Felix rolled his eyes before nudging his chin so that he could capture his lips again for a chaste kiss before pulling away. “But I love you too Syl.”

**Author's Note:**

> More about this story because I didn’t have time to write everything but my brain still came up with this:  
> \- Felix was cursed two years after Glenn died because he kept pushing not only his family away but also his friends. The witch that cursed him just so happened to be one of Ingrid’s friends (Dorothea) and wanted to teach Felix a lesson but never actually expected Felix to stubbornly spend so many years without trying to break the curse 
> 
> \- Ingrid and Dimitri had no idea that Felix was cursed and just assumed that homeboy fucked off to live by himself, when they find out they both reasonably get pissed at Dorothea for that though recognize that she had good intentions 
> 
> \- Not only did Felix know how to break it but actively went out of his way to not have his curse broken because he thought it would be cruel to trick someone into falling in love with him since he knew how much of a mess he was 
> 
> \- One of the people that ended up running into the cottage before Sylvain was Annette and Felix did crush on her for like a good 2 days but she did end up running away the first time he yelled at her 
> 
> \- I chose cat skull face because I saw this one mask on Pinterest of a cat skull and the idea of Felix wearing that has haunted me since then.
> 
> \- Sylvain does later admit to Felix about his sex dreams of monster Felix which only results in Felix calling him a pervert but immediately makes out with him because god dammit Sylvian 
> 
> \- Sylvain talks Felix into reaching out to old friends and even finding Annette though they both don’t move out of the cottage and live there till they die of old age 
> 
> There’s more but that’s just domestic Sylvix worms taking a hold of me. 
> 
> Go yell at me on [twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/wrathiess) If you want to though


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